Astronomical clocks are over 1,000 years old — some say the first was the mysterious Antikythera Mechanism. They predict the movements of the stars, sun, moon, and planets. They are also among the most beautifully-designed timepieces in the world. Here are some of the most glorious examples.

The Wells Cathedral Clock in Wells, England. Its mechanism was made in the late 1380s or early 1390s, but was replaced in the 19th century and moved to a museum, where it still operates.

The dial of the inside clock shows the geocentric view of the universe, where the Earth is in the centre and Sun moves around that. The Sun is really moving on the clock face. It takes 24 hours to go around.

The Rostock astronomical clock in St. Mary's Church, Rostock, Germany, built in 1472 by Hans Düringer.

St Mark's Clock on the Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy, built between 1496 and 1499 by Gian Paolo Rainieri and his son Gian Carlo. After two major restorations the clock mechanism was almost completely replaced in the 1750s, by Bartolomeo Ferracina.

The post of the clock-keeper was filled by the Rainieri family until 1998.

The world's largest astronomical clock on the Torrazzo of Cremona, the oldest still standing brick structure taller than 100 m (328 ft), stands in Cremona, Italy.

Strasbourg astronomical clock in the Cathédrale Notre-Dame of Strasbourg, France. The actual clock was built between 1838 and 1843 by Jean-Baptiste Schwilgué who replaced the previous one from the 16th century that stood there for 50 years after stopped working in 1788.

The new clock contains probably the first perpetual mechanical Gregorian computus, designed by Schwilgué in 1816, an orrery (planetary dial) a display of the real position of the Sun and the Moon, and solar and lunar eclipses.